Building on Each Other
by cyberlord4444
Summary: When the Queen Shard attempted to link with Taylor, something got in the way. Something large, of incredible cosmic power, and green. Spoilers for Lego Dimensions
1. First Build

In an alternate reality, a shard prepared.

It's target was finally ready for synchronization, the trigger event was in progress, it was time.

However, before the synchronization could complete, something landed on it, destroying it utterly.

In another reality, a group of heroes, and a couple of villains, thwarted the efforts of a madman to control and combine their entire section of the multiverse. During this confrontation, the artifact he was attempting to control split into 4 pieces and drifted aimlessly through reality. Eventually, one of these fragments arrived in the same reality that the shard was residing.

The result was that, instead of Taylor Hebert connecting to a Queen Shard and gaining control over insects, she tapped into a section of the Foundation of the Lego Universe.

And hers would never be the same.

* * *

(Taylor POV)

2 weeks.

2 goddamn _weeks_ in the hospital after what they did to me. Plus an additional week of the medical version of house arrest.

I lay back in bed and huffed, half out of boredom and half out of frustration. Actually on second thought, the ratio was 1:3, maybe 4. _Apparently _grabbing a ton of used tampons from the trash and letting them rot for a few days is a recipe for infection, I was lucky none of the girls who 'donated' them had an STD. Combine that with being trapped in a locker overnight, clawing at the door until my fingers bled trying to escape, I'm actually surprised they didn't need to call in Panacea.

Again I considered telling Dad what had happened, what had _been _happening. Again, I dismissed it. Emma, my former best friend, and her two cronies had been tormenting me for years now, I could handle it a bit longer. Besides, it wasn't like anything would change. Winslow was less a school and more a recruitment office for the city's various gangs, I gave up on telling a teacher after a week.

The frustration wasn't anything I could do about, but I wasn't staying in bed for another minute. I might still be feeling a bit weak, but a stray memory of something from my childhood made me grin. Pulling myself out of bed, I slowly made my way to the basement.

Most of the basement was filled with her mother's old things, exiled here after she died. I pointedly avoided them as best I could as I pulled out a large plastic bin. No way in hell was I getting this thing up the stairs, even _if_ I wasn't feeling like crap. Luckily there was an old table and chair down here I could use. I dragged the bin over to it, removed the lid...

And looked over my, impressive if I do say so myself, collection of Legos.

Fond memories surged through my mind as I picked up a handful of bricks and let them trickle through my fingers. Giggling just a little, I grabbed a handful and dumped them on the table and started to put them together. I eventually managed to put together a little yellow ATV, most of the pieces were from construction vehicle sets. The funny thing was, I always had trouble putting things together without instructions, but here I made something that could have belonged in an official kit without so much as _glancing_ at them. However, the last time I had really played with these things was when I was 9, and it was a pretty simple build so... not too strange I guess.

A moment of hesitation later, I was rolling the little ATV across the table, making 'vroom' noises. So sue me, it was relaxing, and I needed to relax. After the shit that I had gone through the past year and a half, hell, the last couple of weeks, this made me feel 10,000 times better. After a minute I let go of it.

And it kept on moving.

My jaw hit the table as the little collection of plastic pieces moved under its own power, right towards the edge of the table. Without thinking, I willed it to turn before it went over, and turn it did. Before long I had built it a little stunt course, and had it going over jumps, through loop-de-loops, and all matters of other tricks. As it hit the big ramp, I wondered what it would be like to ride it.

And as it cleared the jump it grew to the size of an actual ATV and collided with the wall.

I was so shocked that I didn't notice my dad entering the basement until the crowbar he was holding hit the concrete floor with a clatter. Even then, we could only stare at each other, competing to see who had the bigger mouth, until he finally broke the silence.

"So... you're a cape."

"Looks like it."

* * *

(3rd POV)

Contessa was a villain. She had done so many terrible things that a mere fraction of them would have earned her the death penalty. The fact that her end goal was the destruction of a being that threatened the entire planet was inconsequential.

She herself was one of the most important members of her group, due to her power. She could see the path that led to victory, every single step laid out in order. Since awakening her power she has spent every waking moment and then some as a slave to the Path, every missed step lengthening the path in a worst case scenario.

15 minutes ago, the Path had, for a lack of a better word, hiccuped. Instead of a long list of tasks, there now stood only one.

Standby 3 months, then examine situation Broxton Bay

It stayed the same, just like the last thousand or so times she had checked it. The current record of free time that the Path had allowed her was 18 hours. For it to suddenly have a 3 month gap meant only 1 thing, a new trigger. Not just a new trigger but one so powerful that they had become integral to the path. There hadn't been any news of a debut in Broxton Bay that she had heard of, which meant they were either laying low and something would expose them in 3 months, or they were getting some practice and/or prep work in before their debut.

Making a decision, she sent off a few emails before packing a few bags. This was her first vacation _period _since encountering Eden all those years ago, and she was going to spend it in Hawaii.


	2. Placing the First Pieces

(Taylor POV)

Over the remainder of the week I was stuck inside my house, dad and I decided to figure out exactly what powers I had, as well as any limitations. There were 2 main ones, bringing Lego figures to life, and expanding them to full size. In addition, when they were full sized, they were way more durable than they had any right to be. Dad spent a good 15 minutes whacking at the ATV with a sledgehammer before a piece came off. Plus I needed to actively will a model to shrink before it did so, it wouldn't just shrink on its own if I went to sleep. Although we weren't testing when we found that out, after the shock of finding out I had powers, I forgot to shrink my ATV before going to bed. A weird thing about my powers was that while I could remotely operate any vehicles while they were small, while they were full sized, they actually needed to be driven. Luckily it seems that it doesn't necessarily need to be me who drives them, although I generally could do so better, I still giggle when I remember dad hitting the tree in our backyard.

Then came testing my limits, and boy were they finicky. First off, any movement a model had was what they were capable of if they were just a model, I couldn't just make a line of 2x4 standard bricks and have it behave like a snake. Speaking of which, my power seemed to work better with vehicles and structures than with animals, just animating a Lego horse gave me a headache, to say nothing of trying to grow the damn thing, would probably just kick me into next week. On the other hand, I had an easier time if I made something that belonged in the Lego City line, especially if it was construction equipment. It also got easier the more familiar I was with the model, especially if I named it, just calling the ATV the Prowler lessened the drain from barely noticeable to virtually nonexistent.

That was the last thing we discovered about my powers. When I grew my models, they seemed to draw energy from an inner reserve I had, kind of like a cellphone draining a battery. If something had less of a drain than what I recovered naturally, I could theoretically leave it enlarged indefinitely. The drain grew based on the number of bricks and the complexity of the model, a solid cube using x amount of bricks had the same drain as a hollow one, but less than a vehicle using x amount of bricks. One odd thing was that I seemed to use less power when creating my own designs vs following the instructions, a bulldozer I made using the book had almost double the amount of draw as a race car I made using the exact same parts.

The only exceptions to these rules were minifigs. They had a draw when I animated them, even when small, and I couldn't control them beyond giving them simple instructions. On the plus side, they seemed to gain the skills of whatever costumes they were wearing, a doctor minifig could serve as a GP, a construction minifig fixed that leaky pipe under the sink, etc. They were also a workaround to the 'can't remote control enlarged vehicles' rule if they had the right costume, although the less said about the stunt driver, the better.

Over the course of the week, 3 new powers made themselves apparent. The first was that I could look at a pile of parts, and in my head I could instantly see what I could build with them, and how. The second was that I could put models together fast, real fast, commercial time-lapse build fast. Combined, these two powers meant I could go from pile of parts to finished build in seconds, which would be a lifesaver in the field. The last was that any build I made weighed as much as it did when it was small, but only to me, I could put the Prowler over my shoulder and carry it up the stairs, while dad struggled to lift the front end.

Based on research on PHO, I tentatively classified myself as a Master, with secondary classifications of Thinker and/or Tinker, and possibly Striker.

Of course, such things couldn't last forever. Soon enough, Monday came, and with it, Winslow.

* * *

"Looks who's finally back."

I spared a quick glance at my tormentors. Emma, my former best friend until she one day, she just... wasn't. Sophia, the track star and specialist in physically tormenting me. And Madison, the groupie who was just... there.

"Wow, you're even weaker than I thought if a night in a locker had you out of school for 3 weeks," Sophia jeered.

"You're as worthless as the Ship graveyard," Madison chimed in.

"I don't know about that," said Emma, "I'm sure all that scrap metal is worth _something_, I can't think of anyone who would pay a cent for her ugly ass."

I turned and walked away as they started laughing. They never saw anything coming as a trio of cream pies appeared out of nowhere and hit them in their faces. As they sputtered and wiped their faces clean, demanding to know who threw them, they never saw a pocket on my backpack zip itself shut, or heard the quiet giggling coming from it. As for me, I was lost in thought. Their material, while weak, had given me an idea.

* * *

If there was one benefit to me triggering, it's that the week dad and I spent testing my powers had closed the gap between us that had formed when mom died. We still weren't as close as we had been before, but we were slowly getting there, there was actually some conversation at the dinner table, on the rare occasions we were able to share it. Luckily the time off he had taken due to my hospitalization hadn't expired yet, so I was able to bring up my idea to him that night.

"You know how I want to be a hero right?"

Dad's grip tightened around his disposable chopsticks, the thought of me fighting villains scared him, not that I could blame him. "Yes, I assume you've come up with an idea about that."

I nodded, "I was thinking about starting off by doing something small. Brockton Bay would be a lot better off if I dismantled the Ship Graveyard."

Dad couldn't help but chuckle, "And how is scrapping a dozen container ships small?"

"It is compared to fighting an Endbringer."

I winced as dad's face paled, that _probably_ wasn't the best example to go with. "I sincerely hope that was a hypothetical situation."

"Of course it was, I'm not going to even _think_ about volunteering for an Endbringer fight without a lot more experience." That being said, dreams of punching Leviathan in the face with a giant Lego robot were sweet indeed, the damage he did to global shipping just by existing was the main reason Brockton Bay was as bad as it was. "Seriously though, I think it's a good idea. I get to practice using bigger models, Brockton Bay loses a major eyesore, and the money from selling the scrap steel would be a major boon for the economy." Dad put down his chopsticks and laced his fingers together, placing them in front of his mouth. I had seen that pose before, dad only did that when he was really thinking hard about business things. "You don't think it's a good idea?"

"No, I think it's a great idea. The problem is whether or not it's a _legal_ idea."

I mentally facepalmed. Starting my hero career by scrapping a bunch of boats might not be such a good idea if there were actual owners who could sue me for stealing their property. "We need a lawyer."

"That we do." Dad reached for a newspaper that lay forgotten since breakfast and started flipping through the classifieds. After a minute, he found someone we could both agree was probably the best choice.

Carol Dallon, Specialist in Parahuman Law

* * *

Replies to Reviews

IcelandicDragon217: Glad to see you're excited, I hope you found the shenanigans in this chapter, although subtle, pleasing.

ian25rebel: Please ensure that all bricks are thoroughly cleaned before submission.

Mecaldar: It will go many interesting and funny places.

Sukodori1: In response to your review, I have created a chapter that is mostly exposition. My laugh is an evil laugh.

LawlessWriter: I doubt any of them made the Path go, 'Okay, we're going to half to scrap basically everything, we should be ready for you in a few months'.

OstermanA: That, and she's got a new bikini that she hasn't had a chance to use yet.

pg2016: It's Lego, if it's not fun something has gone horribly wrong.

AnimeA55Kicker: This story is going to be less 'Taylor builds giant Lego models and kicks ass' and more 'Taylor subverts the Entities' plans for conflict with the Lego virtue of teamwork and smacks idiot balls out of peoples' hands'. That being said, I have... plans, concerning Lung and Leviathan, M rating isn't there for show.

CLouis94: Ask, and ye shall receive.


	3. Proof of Concept

(Taylor POV)

When I originally considered Mrs Dallon, I forgot 2 rather important pieces of information. The first was that she worked at the same firm as Emma's father. Luckily we didn't run into him. I wasn't certain whether or not Emma's threats to sue us into oblivion were true, but I didn't want to take the chance.

The second was that she was Brandish.

To be honest, it was kind of funny how I found out. Dad and I were sitting in the waiting room, wearing what I thought were quite clever yet subtle methods to conceal our identity. I was wearing a hospital mask, and had made the brave sacrifice of biting into a hot pepper to cause my eyes to water and nose to run, giving the impression that I had a cold and was being so considerate as to not give it to anyone. Dad had managed to find a pair of oversized sunglasses that could fit over his regular ones, it covered more of his face than a domino mask, while not looking out of place on a rather sunny day like today.

The first clue we had was the dress suit hanging behind the secretary's desk. Another was the bulk pack of wet wipes I could see poking out from behind it. Those could be excused though, anyone who worked with capes on a semi-regular basis would probably get a little messy from time to time. Mush had the ability to create an exoskeleton out of literal garbage, and capes with fire-based abilities were more common than Alexandria packages. The police scanner on her desk was a little stranger, but knowing about possible clients before they even made an appointment seemed like a reasonable idea. When she stood up from behind her desk, took the dress suit off the rack, and handed it to a costumed yet maskless cape who was covered in soot that walked into Mrs Dallon's office in a move that was so slick that it had to be honed by doing it every day, and said "Mrs Dallon will be with you in a minute", that I suddenly realized who she was.

Sitting in front of her desk as she wiped the last of the soot from her forehead with a wet wipe, I was thankful that the medical mask covered my embarrassed blush. "Sorry if I kept you waiting, there was an apartment fire on my commute. So, I understand that one of you wants to register as a Rouge?"

"That would be my daughter here," dad said, the traitor attempting to keep his giggles out of his voice. He forgets what my power is. He wakes up before dawn and doesn't own a pair of slippers and I have power over all Lego, he shall pay.

"Alright," Mrs Dallon said as she pulled a somewhat intimidating stack of paperwork from her desk. "Now, we'll start with a description of your powers, although if you'd prefer to give me a demonstration, feel free unless it'll destroy my office. It got annoying after the 3rd time."

Deciding not to think too hard about that, I pulled the Prowler from my pocket and placed it on her desk, making it do a few tricks, then placed it on a clear area of the floor and grew it to full size.

Mrs Dallon maintained a rather impressive poker face, the only reaction from her was the slight rising of her eyebrows. "A rather interesting power, I don't suppose you'd be willing to elaborate a bit more?" I didn't trust myself to speak without babbling on like a starstruck fan, but we had come prepared. Dad had used the skills honed by years in the Dockworkers Association to create a summary of my abilities, combined it with a typed up version of our power testing notes, and made it into a professional looking document. A grin grew on her face as she flipped through it. "It's a pleasant surprise to see something like this from an independent, I have half a mind to hire you to my team."

"Thank you, but I'm happy where I am."

"Pity," Dallon said as she set the document to the side. "Normally this is where I'd recommend visiting the PRT for power testing, but I think sending a copy of this to them should suffice for now." Before she could continue, we were interrupted by a rapping on the window. Turning to look, we saw that Glory Girl(OMG!) was knocking on the window. "Excuse me for a moment," Mrs Dallon said, exasperated look on her face, as she walked over to the window and opened it. "Victoria, what have I told you about interrupting me while I'm with a client?"

"I know, but Aegis invited me for a joint patrol this afternoon and I thought you'd might want to know," Glory Girl replied. However, I had yet to shrink the Prowler, and a full-sized ATV made of Lego in the middle of an office tends to catch the eye, and Glory Girl wasn't known for being the most focused of Parahumans. "Whoa, what the hell is that?" Like a paperclip being drawn to a magnet, Glory Girl shot towards the Prowler. "This is pretty cool, you a Tinker?"

"M-maybe?" Hey my voice didn't crack too much, yay?

"How are you maybe a Tinker?" Glory Girl asked as she straddled the prowler. "Normally that would be pretty obviouoaaasaaaaaaahhhh!" Don't ask me how, maybe she thought just because there didn't look like there was a grip throttle there wasn't one, but somehow she got it moving, crashed it _through_ the wall, and rode it down the 4 story drop to the ground and down the street, a scream of both fear and exhilaration erupting from her mouth.

Mrs Dallon facepalmed as the secretary's voice came over the intercom, _"Do you need me to call the repair people?"_ Mrs Dallon only groaned in response. _"Very well then, I'll get your spare office ready then."_

How often does this kind of thing happen that she has a spare office on standby?

* * *

Replies to Reviews

kitsune of darkfire: The Yellow Castle shall be hers. I'm not even kidding I'm considering a scene where she gets a Yellow Castle set

IcelandicDragon217: Glad you approve, expect more to come

AnimeA55Kicker: Minor spoiler, but I'm planning for high levels of use/abuse of flick-fire missiles

LawlessWriter: The support aspects will really come out to play during the Bakuda and Leviathan Arcs. As for the minifg strength... not yet, but I have plans

Kaiya Azure: I'm keeping the licenced sets to a minimum, for now anyway. Also, too late, Murphy heard 'ya

ultima-owner: It's Lego, it's default setting is fun

Wolvenstorm: While Lego Protectorate will be a thing, the minifig capes won't have any powers(unless you count the default indestructability of all animated Legos). Escalation will come, but not for a while, and I don't think you'll see how coming

Sophie: Future reference, making edits on this site is a pain in the ass. I'm saving it for major stuff only, one little typo isn't the end of the world. Sorry if that sounded mean, it wasn't meant to be.

superpierce: They're classics for a reason

hnh058513: I'm going to stick to the System I think, makes things easier for me. That said, Exo Force uses the System

Guest: I am a proponent of KISS mentality: Keep It Simple Stupid

PurplePitohi: I appreciate the offer, and _might_ consider taking you up on it, but you go on and write it.

the DragonBard: Trust me, things will get BIG soon enough

Junior VB: Thank you

SneakyDevil: Oh look, it's my first hater. I'm going to do the mature thing and ignore you now.

Kamen Rider Yokai: Not sure about the whole portal thing, could go either way. Why have Iron Man, when you can have Gypsy Danger? Her size shift is binary, standard or life sized, that's it, and it's never gonna change. I've already picked a name, and I think all of you might like it.


	4. Focus Testing

(Taylor POV)

Today has been an... interesting day so far. First I met with my lawyer, who happens to be Brandish from New Wave. Then I met Glory Girl, also from New Wave, who stole my Prowler and drove it through a wall. Now Brandish and I followed her, to find her with Aegis, Kid Win, and Vista of the Wards. And I don't even have a real costume yet. Luckily Brandish had a selection of domino masks so I could ditch my hospital mask for something much more superheroey. She even had a nice nice red one with built in lenses that matched my prescription so I didn't have to wear my glasses on top. Unfortunately, this meant that my dumbfounded expression at seeing Glory Girl getting chewed out was plain for all to see.

"How many times do Mark and I have to tell you to be more careful?! Not only did you bust a hole through my office wall, but you did it by driving off on equipment you _stole_ from my latest client!"

I'm not sure if _stole_ is the right word, it's not like she meant to. Besides, it's Glory Girl, you can cut her some slack, right?

"VICTORIA! AURA!"

All of a sudden, my absolutely overriding awe of Glory Girl vanished and my irritation of her having jacked my Prowler returned. Right, she does have the ability to make people like/fear her. Looks like it doesn't work on her mom though. I'd say it was a pity, but again, jacked.

"So, you're a new cape huh?" Okay, just need to double check, yes that _is_ Vista, and she _is_ talking to me. Okay, play it cool.

"Y-yeah, I am."

Open mouth, insert foot, apply palm directly to face.

"This is a pretty cool machine." Oh look, Kid Win likes the Prowler, I can work with this.

"First thing I made." No stuttering, I think I'm starting to get the hang of talking to capes.

"First one's always special, isn't it," he replied, what parts of his face I could see adopting a wistful expression.

"So, when are you going to explain about not being sure whether or not you're a Tinker?" And GG's back in the conversation, even moms need to catch their breath.

A grin spread across my face, I've been practising this for a while. With a completely unnecessary snap of my fingers, I shrunk the Prowler down to mini-mode. Another snap, and it was back to being rideable.

Vista whistled, "Impressive, I assume you can do a whole lot more than just an ATV."

I (attempted to) flash an enigmatic grin as my mind went to my new notebook filled with concept art for builds that I just knew I would have no trouble enlarging, "You could say that."

"Well, nothing personal, but this is the part where I make a recruitment pitch for the Wards so Armsmaster doesn't give me console duty for a month," Aegis replied, a rueful grin on his face.

"Yeah right, she came to my mom, she's joining New Wave," Glory Girl interjected.

While most people my age, hell, anybody, would be thrilled to get an invite to either one of those groups, let alone both, I had my problems with both of them. Joining New Wave might mean kissing any hope of having a secret identity goodbye, I might be able to protect myself no problem, but I'm not going to risk Kaiser following the unwritten rules and not going after my dad. As for the Wards, that sounds like a whole mess of teenage drama, and I've had my fill after Emma betraying me. Luckily, I have a ready made pseudo-excuse ready to go which(hopefully) won't make anyone mad.

"Actually, I'm going Rogue for a while to start. Mrs Dallon's helping me set something up so I can clean up the Ship Graveyard. Selling the scrap metal and using the funds to hire some people to help me should do a lot for the local economy." I internally braced myself, surely they won't be _too_ mad that I'm not going to use my, in my own opinion, awesome powers to fight crime.

A frown appeared on Mrs Dallon's face, here it comes. "Why the hell haven't we thought of doing that?" Huh?

A wide grin appeared on Vista's face, "You're gonna clean up the Graveyard? Put'er there." She held up her hand for a high-five, about a foot away from me. Oh, yeah, she has space-folding powers, I high-fived empty air, only a little surprised when I heard the distinctive smack.

All around me were famous superheroes either thinking me cleaning up the Graveyard was an awesome idea, or kicking themselves for not thinking of it first. I was feeling pretty good, totally bragging on PHO when I get my cape account set up.

"Anyway, back to more important matters," Victoria said with a clap of her hands, "we need to figure out if you're a Tinker or not."

"And how do you propose we figure that out?" asked Kid Win, "I'm a Tinker, and even _I'm_ not sure if she counts as one."

"Simple," Glory Girl said before turning towards me, "can you make laser guns?"

"Seriously?" I asked as everyone else groaned.

"All Tinkers have the ability to make laser guns, ergo, if you can make laser guns, you're a Tinker." Glory Girl responded, confident in her logic.

"The sad part is, I can't actually argue with that," said Aegis. "Better answer her, she's not going to let up until you do."

"To be perfectly honest..." I pulled the hood off the Prowler, shrunk it, and replaced it with another I had in my pocket. It was similar to the last one, except the headlights were replaced with a pair of ray-guns, and the windshield had a targeting display.

"Ha, laser guns, you're a Tinker."

"Technically they're electro-pulse blasters. Kinda like a taser, except rapid fire, and you don't have to deal with any wires." I needed something non-lethal for when I transitioned to being a hero, and I wasn't currently in the best shape. A stun blaster attachment for the Prowler solved both problems.

"Pretty interesting that you can just swap parts like that, makes things pretty convenient," said Aegis.

"Do you even Lego? Mix and match is how the whole thing works." I turned to Kid Win, only a little nervous wondering what he thought of it. He didn't seem to be listening to anyone though, staring at the front of the Prowler with an indescribable expression on his face. "What's the matter, do you think it's a bad idea?"

"Swap parts," Kid Win said as his gaze shifted towards me, "mix and match." Without any warning, he let out a whoop of delight, ran towards me, and planted a massive kiss right on my lips.

Taylor_ has encountered a fatal exception and needs to reboot.

"Oh man, this is big. If this is what I think it is, I owe you big," Kid Win said, manic expression on what I could see on his face. "I... I need to get to my lab before I lose this." With that, he jumped on his hoverboard and rocketed off, leaving the rest of us to wonder what the hell just happened.

"So... I guess you're his type?"

Vista, you are lucky I don't know where you live or you would be experiencing the same wrath I had planned for my father.

* * *

(3rd POV)

There is a saying on the Rig, if you see Armsmaster frowning, stay out of his way. If he's actually scowling, run. This saying has a basis in truth, Armsmaster isn't one to show his emotions on his face, so any emotions he does show are never as strong as what he's actually feeling. Right now, as he was heading towards Kid Win's lab, he was scowling.

Armsmaster had long considered Chris to be among the more professional of the Wards. While he could understand the urge to tinker could be all but overwhelming at time, he had thought that Chris had it under control. Leaving his teammates in the middle of a patrol was the absolute height of irresponsibility.

Arriving at Chris' lab, he found it locked with Aegis standing in front. "I don't suppose you have any explanation for his recent... behaviour."

"Not really. One moment we were chatting with a new rogue, the next he kisses her and flies off into the sunset," Aegis replied with a shrug.

Armsmaster didn't reply, opting instead to punch in the override code to the door. Walking inside the lab, at first glance everything seemed the same, Chris was hunched over a workbench working one something with almost manic intensity, while an array of incomplete devices was piled on a table. However, Armsmaster's detail oriented mind noticed something that most would consider insignificant. Instead of being in a rough pile, the parts were carefully organized by basic shape. In addition, now tha they were laid out like this, Armsmaster noticed that there were several sets of parts that shared all but identical size and basic shape.

Deciding to get to the bottom of this behaviour, Armsmaster cleared his throat. Chris jumped in his seat a little, before turning around, a large smile on his face, "I figured out my specialty!"

One of Armsmaster's eyebrows rose underneath his helmet, that would explain his need to rush off. Chris had been plagued by his inability to determine his specialty for longer than he'd been a Ward. "Elaborate."

"When that new cape we met pulled off the hood of her ATV and plopped on a new one, it reminded me of something all my half-finished builds had in common." Chris got off the stool, clenched in his hand was what he'd been working on. It looked like the grip for one of his laser pistols, but just the grip. "Everything I built had this little connector port on it. I thought it was where the rest of what I was going to build would go, but it isn't." Chris grabbed a seemingly random part from the table and snapped it to the grip, turning it into a full pistol. "Everything I thought was incomplete was actually finished, a module I could swap out as needed." Chris snapped the emitter off, before replacing it with a much longer piece, onto which he snapped the original emitter and a scope. "That's my specialty, Modularity!"

"Congrats pal," Aegis sad, slapping Chris on the back, "knew you had it in you."

Armsmaster on the other hand was thinking of his own tech. One of the things that was hindering his ability to get more out of each of his halberds was the size of each halberd. He couldn't increase the size without making them unwieldy, and the sheer variety of threats made reducing the amount of equipment in each halberd less than ideal. He originally had a concept of a halberd with swapable heads he could change out depending on the situation, but the join was a structural weakness he could never overcome. Kid Win's newfound specialty, combined with his reminder that old ideas were always worth a second look, brought that concept back into the realm of feasibility. "Kid Win, I have an assignment for you."

"Sir," Chris replied as he snapped into a passable approximation of Present Arms.

"See if you can devise a connection port compatible with my halberd rated for use in heavy melee combat." Chris's face glowed at the thought of his newfound talents being appreciated. "After which you will be spending the next month on monitor duty for abandoning your patrol."

"Dang it," Chris muttered under his breath. Armsmaster didn't hear, having started the trek back to his own lab. If he wanted a proof of concept ready for when the connector was designed, he'd best get started.

* * *

Will I ship Chris and Taylor? Only time will tell.

Replies to Review

Blue flavoured Coffee: She isn't called Collateral Damage Barbie for nothing

Sin Ouroboros: And more you now have

AsahinaTora: SPACESHIP! In all honesty, this Taylor is going to be more into giant robots

ultima-owner: And a good contractor on speed dial

Balrog1788: It's like her favorite restaurant, all she has to do is call them up and say she'll have the usual

superpierce: It isn't Vicky if at least one wall hasn't been structurally compromised

kreeft123xx: You obviously have been reading sub-par lego fics until now

FanBoy01: I'm glad you found my portrayal of her pleasing


	5. Character Selection

(Taylor POV)

Well... this isn't something I'd expected.

Apparently as part of her punishment for stealing my Prowler, Victoria had to finance a professional costume for me, which is how I found myself in front of Parian's shop, idea notebook in hand. Brandish didn't ask for the mask back, so I was wearing it now.

We arrived at her shop just in time to see her finishing up a puppet show. It looked like an excerpt from the Wizard of Oz, if the plushy Tin Man was any indication. As Parian and her puppets bowed to the crowd of applauding children, Victoria called out. "Another sold out crowd Pari?"

Parian turned towards us, she had a full face mask, but I could still see an exasperated expression. "Victoria, let me guess, you ripped your costume when you crashed through the wall of your mom's office, and are using it as an excuse to update your look."

Victoria groaned, "I am _never_ hearing the end of that, am I?"

"Unlikely," Parian said as a massive fabric gorilla started packing up. "So, what actually brings you here?"

"Mom says I've got to shell out for a costume for her new client," Victoria said, pointing at me. I couldn't help but blush slightly, I thought I was getting used to being around heroes, before feeling a small hand pull at my jeans.

Looking down, I saw a little 5 year old girl looking at me. "Are you a hero?"

Roll will save vs cute... save failed.

"I will be, first though I'm going to be a Rogue for a while, like Parian."

"Are you gonna do shows?"

The thought of doing shows percolated through my mind as her mother bundled her up and alternated between apologizing for her daughter and softly admonishing said daughter. Mrs Dallon had recommended that I pick up some sort of charity activity in order to keep the NEPEA-5 people off my back, as well as to help build up a positive PR profile.

"Actually," I said as I pulled off my backpack and pulled out some bricks, putting together an old fashioned jukebox, "you could say that." I pulled out a 2x1 flat slab with a picture of a dollar bill, inserted it into the jukebox, and pressed the button. As it started playing that legendary circus song, 3 Lego clowns jumped out of my bag, enlarged, and started throwing cream pies at each other. In a couple of seconds, the site of Parian's show had become an impromptu 1 ring circus, and all the children present were begging to be allowed to stay.

"Impressive," said Parian as she led us towards her shop, before turning towards me, "do you need to be present for them to work?"

I shook my head, "They're autonomous."

"You know, you're making it kinda hard for me not to kidnap you and make you join New Wave," Victoria said as we entered the store.

Parian smacked her with a ribbon, "Please don't kidnap my fellow Rouge. Now, do you have any thoughts on what you'd like?" she asked as she turned to me.

"I do have a few ideas," I said, pulling out a few sheets from my bag. "Most of my larger builds are styled after construction equipment, I'd like to stick with that."

Parian hmmed as she used some threaded needles to array the pages in front of her. "Not the most stylish of costumes if you ask me," Victoria said, peeking over her shoulder.

"Well I for one am glad to work on something practical for a change," Parian replied, studying my sketches. "I can whip up most of this in about an hour, luckily I recently started work on a new puppet that uses materials I don't normally stock, I have enough left over for this. These bits however," she said, gesturing at one of the closeups, "they aren't exactly things I specialize in."

"I've already got those," I replied, patting my bag.

"Well then, let's get started," Parian said as an array of cloth measuring tapes floated out of her dress, bearing a resemblance to a group of cobras. I couldn't help but gulp.

* * *

Standing just inside the door in my new costume, I couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Although I have to admit, Parian did good work, it turned out much better than I thought it would. The main body of the outfit was simple enough, jeans and a blue button up shirt, over which was a yellow reflective vest with plenty of pockets. Instead of a normal mask, my dad had gotten me a thick pair of safety goggles, with the lenses shaped to match my prescription. On top of my head was his old hard-hat, painted a cheery red, and an artist minifig had painted the Lego logo on the front. A pair of heavy black steel toed boots and a pair of yellow work gloves completed the ensemble.

"Come on, you look good, much better than I thought you would," Victoria said, giving me a gentle, for her, shove. Glaring at her for a moment, I steeled myself before opening the door. I have to admit, the sight that awaited me did much to calm my nerves.

The jukebox was playing a new, rather fast paced song, as one of my clown minifigs and a somewhat overweight man were having a dance-off. It was an interesting dance, with lots of kicking. The gathered children, and a couple of the parents, were clapping along to the beat. They both had intense looks on concentration on their faces. Soon enough though, the clown missed a step, falling down. The man cheered, "You were good challenge little clown, but Mikhail is champion for reason." He helped the minifig to its feet before pulling a sandwich and chowing down as he went on his way.

I couldn't help but chuckle as I started to pack up the impromptu circus, much to the disappointment of the kids. As I was putting away the see-saw, a kid walked up to me. "Will you put on another show? I didn't get a turn with the music box." Taking a look, he had a regular dollar bill in his fist.

"I don't see why not," I said as I cast a long look at the Jukebox. Parian was fast, and this was a simple costume, but we were still in there for a good hour. If the party was still going, and the kid wanted to put real money in it... Taking the top off of it, I was only partially surprised to find about $30 inside.

"Well, I guess lunch is on you..." Victoria started before cutting off. "Come to think of it, did you pick a name for yourself yet?"

As a matter of fact, I hadn't. Coming up with a name that both stayed true to my Lego roots but could still be taken seriously was hard.

'_I, AM, A MASTER BUILDER!'_

Where the hell did that voice come from? "You hear that?"

Victoria just looked at me, "...no?"

"Never mind," I said. Maybe it was a powers thing? Who knew how thinker powers worked. I already had Tinker, Master and Brute ratings from the PRT, what's one more? Better keep the fact that I was hearing voices to myself though, even if they did solve my name problem. "By the way, you can call me Master Builder."

* * *

Before you ask, yes, that was the voice of Emmet. From time to time I'll be having quotes pop in, that can originate from any media that Lego has created or licenced, even the Sam Ramey Spider-Man movies.

Now then, review reply time

drdeth2000: Suffice it to say that Armsmaster is working next to a phone that has the PRT Director of Marketing on the other end of the line screaming for 4 hours straight at not netting literally the biggest toy opportunity ever, not even the Triumverate make their own toy lines

Kamen Rider Yokai: Before anyone says anything, I had this chapter planned long before reading your comment

halo is bad ass: Maybe not the ATV, but the minifigs launching a rescue mission is certainly possible, in fact, you get a cookie for planting the idea in my head

AsahinaTora: The fact that the thought of making a Megazord hasn't crossed the mind of any Tinker, hero or otherwise, baffles me

FelixNeko: You misread, Taylor isn't limited to City builds, she just finds them easiest. Besides, who's stopping her from making a space ship from 7 bulldozers, 2 cranes and a cement mixer?

the DragonBard: See above

hnh058513: Hey! Leaf the puns to the guy writing the story;)

ultima-owner: Hard to be a hero if all the criminals you bring in are cadavers

Junior VB: In this story, Taylor's life is _not_ suffering

Kaiya Azure: 'I swear officer, she just saw it sitting there and took of with it. What do mean 'did I leave the keys in the ignition'?'

superpierce: And right after his line about the first one being special too

Kaiya Azure: Actual, not even kidding, serious plot point right here, I'm working on the assumption that the same part of the Shard that causes Parahumans to seek conflict also makes them avoid non-violent uses of their power

gasacan90: Here you go

HSPRinceOfSpace: Glen Chambers: "Get me a large cardboard box, a stick, 10' of rope and a mint condition Yellow Castle set, I'm nabbing this PR goldmine if it's the last thing I do."

FanBoy01: Right here on Fanfiction is a Worm/Girl Genius cross called Prometheous, in which Taylor triggers as The Heterodyne and builds a death ray out of a random assortment of body parts, consider my, and Victoria's, point rested

shugokage: Thank you

Brady420: While yes, Iron Man is epic, the amount of bricks needed would be(about) the same as a true-scale helicarrier. It's just not parts-effective, sorry.

Dracomancer1: Welcome to the party bus, we'll be having our door prize draw just as soon as the God Emperor of Mankind rises from the Golden Throne

cko2: I'll try to work on that

Plaguelord: Minifigs with super powers will not be happening... for now

Neo-Devil: Lego can cross with ANYTHING!


	6. Character Unlock

At first you would think that getting my personal tormenters, who were also the 3 queens of the school, pied would cause them to come down harder on me either to save face or work out their aggression… you'd be half right.

The truth is the pedestal that they sat on was not only rocked by the pies, but every other girl with even half a shot was making every attempt to knock them off it entirely now that they were perceived to be vulnerable. As a result, they were focusing their efforts on their new rivals rather than little old me, I even started feeling safe enough to start eating lunch in the cafeteria again, just so I could watch the fun. It turns out that without being able to bring up childhood secrets, Emma was significantly less effective.

I was so engrossed in watching her attempt to verbally shred the E88's candidate, emphasis on attempt, that I didn't notice someone sit down beside me.

"Hi."

I didn't jump, and anyone who says otherwise is a filthy liar. "H-hi."

"I'm Janet, just transferred in." She was a rather plain girl, almost as thin as I was, with light brown hair. Her t-shirt was pretty cool though, black with a gold stylized two-headed eagle, although it didn't look like an E88 symbol.

"I'm Taylor." I knew how this was probably going to go, I would try to make a new friend, Emma would sabo… wait a second. Emma was far too busy to turn her against me, and with luck by the time she got a spare moment it would too late. Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt to try now that I had an actual shot. "Nice shirt, haven't seen that symbol before."

"So… you wish to learn of the mighty Imperium of Man, do you?"

Of course… the first chance to make an actual friend and she's a female Greg

_-LEGO-_

_(3__rd__ POV)_

"This is getting stupid," Emma grumbled, angrily attacking what the school claimed were mashed potatoes. "One little prank is no reason for every girl in the damn school to try and take us down."

"Relax," Sophia replied, "all we have to do is make an… example of one of them and the rest will know not to fuck with us."

Madison shrunk in on herself, "Are you sure that's a good idea? I'd rather not get one of the gangs on the warpath after us."

Emma made to respond before her eyes settled on Taylor's table. Specifically, the girl sitting next to her waving a little plastic figure around. "Don't you worry, I have just the bitch in mind."

_-LEGO-_

_(Danny POV)_

"What do you mean we've hit a roadblock?"

This was not proving to be as straightforward as I thought it would be. After getting Taylor's cape ID taken care of with Mrs Dallon, I took the proposal to Jakob, the DWA's union lawyer to iron out the details. He was one of the few people who had been with the union longer than me, even if technically not a member himself, but despite his advanced age still looked good. Who could have guessed that this would be where the whole thing stopped dead?

"I'm sorry Danny, but city bylaws clearly state that all nonessential municipal work, which this would fall under since the land the graveyard sits on is municipally owned, must be performed by union personnel." At least he had the decency to look sorry about it. "And since we've been abusing that particular bylaw to get most of our work…"

"We can't try to get it removed in case this doesn't work." As much as I wanted to help Taylor, I still had a lot of people look to me to make sure they didn't starve. "I'm guessing the fact that you're bringing this up means that we can't just make Master Builder a DWA member."

Jakob shook his head. "NEPEA-5 both helps us and shoots us in the foot in that regard. While it does allow registered underage parahumans significant leeway in getting a job, it also expressly forbids them from being members of non-parahuman organizations."

"It's like that law was designed to make sure that they couldn't get work outside the PRT." I couldn't help but rub my face in frustration. This job would bring new life into the city, make the gangs less able to recruit the desperate because of a sheer lack of desperate people to recruit, and maybe even get the ferry running again, but that damn law made it impossible to even get started because it wouldn't let Taylor to join… wait a second. "You said that she couldn't join any _non-parahuman_ organizations, right?"

Jakob's eyes were confused for a few seconds before understanding sparked within them and he flipped through the papers on his desk for a few minutes. "Assuming you're thinking what I think you're thinking…"

"Which given you're much smarter than me is quite likely."

"That could actually work. Of course, we would need at least 2 more people to make it work."

"I've got an idea for one if you can track down another."

"I'll put out a few feelers while working on the preliminary paperwork."

"I won't keep you then," I said before exiting his office. Persuading her might be a little tricky, but if I could keep the DWA from falling apart for this long, I could do this.

* * *

Sorry for the delay, now to reply to reviews

halo is bad ass: My plans for Coil have already been set in stone, and are going to be a very fun time, for us anyway *cackles evilly*

HeirofVoid: Scenes involving an army of _minifigs_ have already been planned, no Toa are going to be making a presence, pirates and ninjas on the other hand...

Mecaldar: But... the Prowler, and I have plans for a car chase involving a Lego jeep that fires missiles, they're fun too

Kamen Rider Yokai: Taylor making her own bricks _may_ happen, although not guaranteed. As for Uber and Leet, planned and scheduled for after Bakuda but before Leviathan

duskrider: Maybe after REDACTED

xbox432: Taylor's just lucky she isn't diabetic

ultima-owner: In Lego Soviet Russia, powers name you

shugokage: Luck? An evil genius doesn't NEED luck... though I could use a passport and a speedboat.

FanBoy01: When written by the right authors anyway (ie not Wildbow)

TigerCat: "How'd you learn your specialty" "I kissed a girl"

jnborden521: The Deathstar is an overpriced, oversized, overengineered and overratted piece of junk, REDACTED are far superior

IamOminus: Um... *Beats repeatedly over the head with the MST3K mantra*

pax-draconix: A combination of the base aggressiveness of the host and the fact that in this universe the severity of the conflict drive is directly proportional to the direct conflict applications of the ability

NOYB: Did you drunk-post into the wrong story?


	7. Instruction Booklet 1

_(Danny POV)_

This could be a little tricky. The cape I was planning to meet was known for staying out of normal cape affairs, recruiting her could prove problematic. Luckily, I had years of experience dealing with reluctant clients keeping the DWA afloat. Straightening my tie, and wondering how some people were capable of wearing one for the entire day, I entered the building.

"Welcome to Parian's Dollhouse, how may I help you?"

"Actually Miss Parian, I'm here to help you."

_-LEGO-_

_(3__rd__ POV)_

Emily Brown was not in a good mood. Ever since triggering, she did her research, lone parahumans don't last very long. Her original plan to join a team on her own terms went pear-shaped fast due to the appropriately named Bitch. Not to mention that she was technically homeless, and her only possessions was her makeshift costume. Could this day get any worse?

"If you don't mind me saying so, you look like you've had a rather unfortunate encounter with a hedge trimmer."

'_Now what fresh hell is this?' _she thought to herself as she turned to look at the speaker. He wasn't much to look at, an old man in a light grey suit that just screamed 'I'm a lawyer'. "And what do you want."

"My name is Jakob Kleinfeld, and I'm here to offer you an opportunity."

"I'm not joining the Empire."

"I assure you that I'm not affiliated with any gangs, least of all the Neo Nazis," Jakob replied as he pulled a Star of David pendant out from under his collar. "I'm hear representing a new group that's in the middle of forming. If you're looking for a legal way to use your abilities for gainful employment, then I believe we can help each other."

Emily sighed before nodding, it wasn't like she had many other options at the moment, what harm could hearing the old man out do?

_-LEGO-_

_(Taylor POV)_

Is there anything finer than spending a Saturday sleeping in 'till noon and having homemade French toast for brunch? Especially since Janet was turning out to be a better friend than I originally feared. Sure, she was a bit obsessed with that Warhammer 40k game, but unlike Greg, she managed to make it sound interesting, I might want to give it a try. That said, her complaints about overpriced models were a bit concerning, maybe I could make my own?

"Leave any for me?" dad asked as he sat down. I just waved over the chef Minifig that was working the stove, who launched a few slices from his frying pan to dad's plate with a flip of his wrist. Dad just chuckled before taking a bite. "I vote that we throw out our takeout menus."

I nodded; mouth too full of fluffy deliciousness to speak. My powers were better than Eidolon's himself.

However, when dad put his fork down I couldn't help but worry. If he was limiting himself to only one bite, this meant he had something big on his mind. "I have a few things for you," he said before placing a small box on the table.

Seeing the label, my eyes widened. "A cellphone? But, after mom…"

"I know," dad replied. "We've been blaming these things for your mother's death, but with everything coming up you need a work phone, and we've got to let go of our hatred for these things. Not to mention if you had one of these in the locker, you could have called for help."

I opened the box, pulling out the phone. It had a protective sleeve on it with raised sections that made it look like a red 2x4 slab, I couldn't help but chuckle.

"A guy from the DWA's got a vacuum former, put that together when I was asking him about models," dad replied before pulling out a pile of paperwork. "Now, I have a few papers here we need to go over before Monday, in order to keep everything nice and legal."

I looked the pile before turning my gaze towards him. All he did was place a pen on top and signal the chef for some bacon. Sighing I picked up the first sheet… what's the UCIP?

_-LEGO-_

Today was the big day. School had let out an hour ago, and I made my way to the Graveyard on the Prowler. There was a big chunk of it walled off with temporary fencing. I rode up to the opening, pulling a large hardcase off the back before shrinking it and putting it in my pocket. Entering the area, I gave a small wave to a couple of the DWA guys. Of to the side was a young woman wearing what looked like a modified firefighter's uniform with blue striping and a pair of welding goggles. Walking over to her, I gave a smile. "You must be Acetylene."

I could feel her glare through her goggles, "Seriously, you're supposed to be my boss?"

"I guess…" Not wanting to deal with her right now, I walked over to my dad who was talking with a pair of men who looked kind of funny wearing suits and hardhats.

"Alfred Richardson, Tow Boat U.S. Boston office."

"Ronald Palmer, Brockton Bay Municipal Projects."

"Danny Hebert, Brockton Bay Dock Workers Association."

This was it, don't screw up, "Master Builder, United Commercial/Industrial Parahumans."

"I have to admit, I've never heard of a union for Parahumans," said Mr Richardson.

"Well, there are hero teams and villain teams, why not a rogue team?" Okay, I think I'm sounding professional so far.

"Why not indeed?" Mr Richardson chuckled. "Anyway, we've got some temporary docks set up to load the barges, I'm just here to see you in action for a bit to confirm to my bosses that this is a good investment."

"Don't worry, I… we've got this covered." Putting my hardcase on the ground, I opened it and pulled out my latest creation. It looked like a cross between a scorpion and a construction vehicle. The port-side claw was replaced with a buzzsaw and the drill-tipped tail was angled downwards like the rear shovel of a backhoe loader.

"Pfft, what are you gonna do with that?" chuckled Acetylene.

I just grinned as I set it on the ground and stepped back, motioning everyone else to do the same. With a flex of my power, the Scorpio Deconstructer expanded to it's full 10' high size. I have to admit, hearing her 'meep' was a little cathartic. Climbing into the top-mounted cockpit, I drove towards my first victim. Grabbing it with the claw to hold it steady, I brought the saw down onto it, slicing it like a loaf of bread. Dropping it into a predesignated spot, I took a moment to watch a group of workers attack it with cutting torches. Except for Acetylene, she used a stream of flame from her mouth. As I repositioned for the next cut, I couldn't help but smile. This would help my city, and I was making it happen.

_-LEGO-_

_(Unknown POV)_

ALCHEMIST: STARTING SELF-DIAGNOSTIC

CURRENT RUN TIME: 728393

HOST CONNECTION: 98.72%-ACCEPTABLE

ENERGY RESERVES: 97.15%-ACCEPTABLE

CONFLICT DRIVE: 86.42%-BELOW EXPECTED VALUE

SHARD-NET CONNECTION: 84.69-BELOW EXPECTED VALUE

BRICK-NET CONNECTION: 15.96-UNKNOWN PROCESS

REQUESTING EXTERNAL DIAGNOSTIC

[These are not the droids you're looking for]

REQUEST CANCELED

ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL

SELF-DIAGNOSTIC COMPLETE

_-LEGO-_

xbox432: Stop hacking my brain!

halo is bad ass: Maybe...;)

IcelandicDragon217: Sorry about the delay, but it's here now

Leechblade: Technically the DWA and UCIP are seperate entities, they just work together, like the Protecterate and PRT, but better cause they're not commanded by idiots

BloodLordShade: Who am I to deny the Emperor's will, might have to restrict them to game night though

ultima-owner: What do you think _I_ think

shugokage: I try

FanBoy01: You do you(backs away slowly)

shypunk: yes to the first half, no to the second

DragoMagma: I'm sorry about that, I'm trying to do better


End file.
